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Euro-zone April PMI jumps, led by Germany

Greece's manufacturing activity continued to weaken in April

By

AudeLagorce

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Manufacturing output in April across the 16-nation euro zone expanded at its fastest clip in nearly 10 years, driven by a record performance in Germany and Austria, though Greece again saw a contraction, a survey showed Monday,

The euro-zone manufacturing purchasing managers' index for April rose to 57.6 from 56.6 in March and came in higher than its earlier estimate of 57.5, data collected by Markit showed.

Manufacturing production expanded at the fastest pace since June 2000, led by Germany and Austria. Output also rose in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

Greece was the only nation to report a contraction, albeit less marked than in March.

The difference between the output indexes of the strongest performer, Germany, and the weakest, Greece, was at its widest in the survey's history, mirroring the widening gap between the economic and political situations of the two countries.

"At the euro-zone level, April's final PMI data point to manufacturing output growth approaching double-digits as export-driven expansion hits a record pace in Germany and continues to surge in many other nations," Markit Chief Economist Chris Williamson said in a statement.

"Particularly welcome are signs that peripheral countries such as Ireland and Spain are now enjoying sharply faster growth," he added.

But he warned that there's evidence Greece's woes have deepened, "with ongoing contraction and an accelerating downturn in export orders suggesting that the government's growth forecast for 2010 is looking increasingly optimistic," he said.

The German PMI was revised marginally higher to 61.5 instead of 61.3, up 1.3 points from March, making it the only one of the four biggest members of the European Monetary Union to exceed the euro-zone average.

The French PMI, meanwhile, was revised marginally lower to 56.6 from 56.7.

For the first time in 18 months, manufacturers were able to increase prices, with the output price index jumping to 54.4 from 49.9 in March -- the first time it has been above 50 since October 2008.

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